Headlamp having an adjustable switch



April 23, 19-63 F. sc c 3,087,049

HEADLAMP HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE SWITCH Filed May 6, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVEN TOR. 4. [ii/V676 627/5676? 3,087,049 HEADLAMP HAVING AN ADJUSTABLESWITCH Aaron Francis Schecter, West Englewood, NJ. (1666 MontgomeryAve., Bronx, NY.) Filed May 6, 1960, Ser. No. 27,345 Claims. (Cl.246-64) This invention relates to headlamps having adjustable switchesand to lamp and switch structures therefor.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 779,182, filed December 9, 1958, now Patent No. 2,964,613(Dec. 13, 1960).

Devices are known wherein a light source is controlled by a mercuryswitch and wherein the light source is operated by maneuvering themercury switch to a position Whereat it electrically couples the lightsource to a source of electrical power. Moreover, it is known to applysuch devices to headgear so that the light source may be switched on andoff by movements of the head of the operator.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved headlamp operatedby a mercury switch or the like, the improved structure being especiallyadapted for assembly, storage and maintenance, and portability.

Briefly, the invention contemplates the provision of a headlampstructure, the components of which are readily detached from one anotherso that the storing, conveyance, maintenance and assembly of the same isfacilitated.

An important feature of my invention resides in the provision of amercury switch device which is readily incorporated into and detachedfrom the headlamp structure with which it is associated.

A further feature of my invention relates to the manner in which headengaging straps are provided which support therein the source or sourcesof electrical power which are employed.

Still another feature of my invention is the manner in which Imechanically and electrically assemble head straps and the power sourcessupported thereby into the structure of the invention.

A further feature of my invention resides in the manner in which Isupport a light source for substantially universal adjustment.

Advantageously, the mercury switch device of my invention is readilyadjustable, as will be seen in the following detailed descriptionwherein will be found other objects, features and advantages of theinvention.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will next be described withreference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headlamp structure provided inaccordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2- 2 of FIG. 1, a portion ofthe structure being broken off;

FIG. 3 is a side view, partially in axial section, of the mercury switchdevice of my invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, taken along line 44 of FIG.1, and illustrating several features of my invention, including theuniversal support of the light source; and

FIG. 5 diagrammatically illustrates the electrical circuit embodied inmy invention.

In FIG. 1 is illustrated a forehead piece d0 provided with lenses 1-2and supporting a light device or source 14 ice and straps or strapsections 16 and 18 engaging said forehead piece and adapted toaccommodate therewith the head of an operator.

The straps are adjustably engaged with one another by adhering fasteningdevices 29 which are touch and close fasteners consisting of woven nylontapes as described in the Thomas Register of American Manufacturers(1960) under the trade name Velcro.

Also comprised in the structure of the invention is a forehead brace 22attached to the forehead piece 10 by a similar fastening means 24.Laterally positioned on the forehead piece 10 or strap 13 is the mercuryswitch device 26 of my invention.

It will be noted that straps 16 and 18 comprise bulges 28 and 30. Asbetter seen in FIG. 2, these bulges respectively encase batteries 32 and34- which are commercially available nickel cadmium batteriescharacterized by a long life and ability to be recharged.

Wires 36 and 38 are connected to positive and negative terminals (notshown) on battery 3-2. Wire 36 is connected by means of a collar 40 to ametallic post 42 having a hexagonal head 44 and a threadably adjustablenut 46 which maintains the post 42 appropriately in position.

Wire 38 is similarly connected by a collar to a metallic postappropriately held in position on the strap 16.

From each of said posts there extends a nipple 48 and St), respectively,said nipples being provided with bulbous ends.

In the side portion 52 of the forehead piece 10 are located two femalereceptacles 54 and 56. These receptacles have the form of conventionalsnap fastener elements which receive and hold firmly the bulbous ends ofnipples 4S and 5t). Since the receptacles 54 and 56 are metallic, theyafford both mechanical and electrical connection for thenipples 48 and50.

Strap 18 is similarly provided with nipples 58 and 60 accommodated inreceptacles 62 and 64. The strap 18 is thus mechanically aflixed to theforehead piece 10 while at the same time electrical connection isprovided for the battery 34.

Intermediate receptacles 62 and 64 is provided a further receptacle 66which is also fashioned as a conventional metallic snap fastener.Receptacle 66 accommodates the bulbous portion 68 on the stem 70 of themercury switch device 26. The mercury switch device further comprises abody portion 72 and a knob 74 which provides for adjusting the positionof the internally comprised mercury switch 76 as will next be indicatedin greater detail with reference to FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3 are seen, as parts of the mercury switch device, the bulbousportion 68, stem 70, body portion 72 and knob 74, as stated above.

The body portion comprises a hollow cylindrical casing 78 which is ofmetal and is therefore electrically conductive. Within casing 78 is abody of insulating material 80 within which is housed the mercury switch76 itself. The mercury switch is positioned obliquely with respect tothe axis of casing 78 and one terminal of said switch is connected tothe casing by means of a wire 82.

The stem 70 comprises a metallic tube 84 of lesser diameter than ofcasing 78, but possibly integral therewith. Through the center of tube84 extends a metallic element 86 to which the other terminal of mercuryswitch is affixed by means of a wire 88. Rod 86 is insulated from tube84 by insulator 90. Rod 86 is mechanically and wires. Alternatively,

tion in greater detail and in FIG.

aosrnoss electrically connected to the bulbous portion 68, the bulbousportion 68 being separated from tube 34 by means of insulating collar92.

With reference to both FIGS. 2 and 3, it is seen that receptacle 62 isconnected by means of wire 94 to receptacle 66, which in turnmechanically and electrically encases the bulbous portion 68 of themercury switch device 26. This provides electrical connection betweenthe battery 34 and the mercury switch 76 which in turn is connected tothe casing 78.

Casing 7 8is connected by a wire 96 to light source 14 in a manner whichwill hereinafter be described in greater detail.

Rotation of knob 74 provides a controllable relationship of the positionof mercury switch 76 with respect to totehead piece and therefore lightsource 14. It will be --understood that adjustment of knob 74 permitsselection of the angle of tilt of the operators head at which the lightsource will be turned on, assuming that a complete circuit is otherwiseprovided.

Reference to FIG. 2 illustrates that the light source is 1 furtherconnected by means of a wire 98 to the receptacle 54 which is connectedvia battery 32 to the above noted receptacle 56. A wire 100 connectsreceptacle 56 to receptacle 64 so as to complete the necessaryelectrical circuit controlled by mercury switch 76.

It is to be noted that the axis of mercury switch 76 is oblique to theaxis of the mercury switch device 26 and this is deliberately providedto account for the lateral tilting of the head which is common in dentalpractice. The particular tilt illustrated in FIG. 3 is provided for arighthanded dentist, whereas the mercury switch device 26wouldprefera-bly be located on the opposite side of the forehead piece10 with a similar inclination of the mercury switch 76 for a left-handeddentist.

The wires 96, 98 and 100 are preferably hidden within the structure ofthe forehead piece 10 so that if the forehead piece is made of metal,these wires are insulated the forehead piece may be fabricated ofplastic material, whereupon said wires need not necessarily be soinsulated.

FIG. 4 illustrates the light source structure of my inven- 4 areillustrated forehead piece 10, light source 14 and forehead brace 22 asstated above. This figure also illustrates wire 96 leading to lightsource 14 and embedded in the structure of said forehead piece.

The wire 96 is connected to a contact member 102 which is encircled byan externally threaded annular member 104. The annular member 104 isthreadably engaged by means of a centrally perforated cap 106. Withinthe cap 106 is accommodated the spherical member 108 consisting ofmetallic portion 110 and insulated portion 112. Extending outwardlythrough cap 106 is the rod or stem 114 connected to metallic portion110. The rod 114 is pierced by a bore 116 which extends centrallythrough spherical member 108 and its metallic and insulating portions110 and 112, respectively.

Through this bore extends an insulated wire 118 soldered in position at120, whereat engagement is made with contact member 102.

A casing 122 comprises a front portion accommodating lenses 124 and 126and a rear portion supporting a socket 128. The socket 128 accommodatesan electric bulb 130 Whichi-s connected by means of a conventionalstructure and elements 132 and 134 to wire 118 and casing portion "136,respectively.

4- member 10-8 against cap 106 sothat the entire structure is heldfirmly in the position last selected by manual adpustment.

It will be appreciated that the casing 122 is susceptible ofsubstantially universal adjustment as regards its position relative tothe forehead piece 10 and that the entire structure can be readilydemounted or assembled in accordance with the objects of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates diagrammatically the electrical circuit of theinvention and inFIG. 5 are shown batteries 32 and 34 and mercury switchdevice '26, as well as light source 14. Switches A, B, C and D aresimply diagrammatical representations of the circuit opening and closingmembers constituted by the various receptacles and nipples such as, forexample, constituted in one instance by nipple 50 and female receptacle'56.

The above structure represents substantial improvement over heretoforeavailable mercury switch operated light sources, the structure of theinvention being readily assembled and disassembled for storage,maintenance, and portability.

There will now be obvious to those skilled in the art many modificationsand variations of the structure set forth above. These modifications andvariations will not, however, depart from the scope of the invention ifthey are defined by the folowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A headlamp comprising a forehead piece, a light device supported onsaid forehead piece, electrical sockets in said forehead piece andopening laterally therefrom, said sockets being coupled to said lightdevice, a strap member, a source of electrical power in said strapmember, electrical plugs on said strap member and coupled to saidsource, said plugs being accommodated in said sockets to couple saidstrap member and forehead piece mechanically and to couple said sourceand light device in an electrical circuit, a mercury switch device insaid circuit and detachably connected to said forehead piece wherebysaid light device is actuated in accordance with the position of thehead of the user, and a further socket in said forehead piece andopening laterally with respect thereto, said mercury switch devicecomprising a body, a stem on said body, said stem being detachable fromand rotatably supported in said further socket, and knob means on saidbody portion for rotating the same, said body comprising an outercylindrical metallic casing, a mercury switch having two electricalconnections in said casing, one of the connections being connected tosaid casing, and an insulating body supporting the switch in the casing;said stem comprising an outer tubular member opening into said casingand coaxial therewith, a central conductor extending through said tubingto one of said connections, insulating means between said centralconductor and tubular member, and a bulbous metallic tip on said centralconductor for engaging said further socket with a snap fit; said casingbeing coupled to said light source and said further socket being connected to one of the first said sockets.

2. A headlamp as claimed in claim 1 comprising a contact on saidforehead piece and coupled to one of the first said sockets, threadedmeans encircling said contact and extending from said forehead piece, ametallic cap having a central opening and threadably engaging saidthreaded means, a spherical member within the cap including a metallicportion engaging said cap and an insulating portion engaging saidcontact, a rod on said spherical member extending through the centralopening in said cap and supporting said light device for substantiallyuniversal adjustment, an insulated lead coupled to said light device andpassing through said rod and centrally through the portions of thespherical member to said contact, and a lead coupling said contact tosaid source of electrical power.

3. A headlamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the source of electricalpower being a rechargable battery coupled to the first said sockets, andrecharging nipples on the first said sockets.

4. A headlamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein said $2 23 2 x 5: mercuryswitch device and light device being adjustable 5 1691472 gg zfindependently of each Other- 2:17 :739 c i i O 17:

5.A headlamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein said 2 207 705 Cox July 1mercury switch device comprises a mercury switch 2,638,532 Brady May 12,obliquely disposed with respect to the mercury switch 10 2,725,462Vorgang Nov. 29, device axis. 2,964,613 Schcchter Dec. 13,

6 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A HEADLAMP COMPRISING A FOREHEAD PIECE, A LIGHT DEVICE SUPPORTED ONSAID FOREHEAD PIECE, ELECTRICAL SOCKETS IN SAID FOREHEAD PIECE ANDOPENING LATERALLY THEREFROM, SAID SOCKETS BEING COUPLED TO SAID LIGHTDEVICE, A STRAP MEMBER, A SOURCE OF ELECTRICAL POWER IN SAID STRAPMEMBER, ELECTRICAL PLUGS ON SAID STRAP MEMBER AND COUPLED TO SAIDSOURCE, SAID PLUGS BEING ACCOMMODATED IN SAID SOCKETS TO COUPLE SAIDSTRAP MEMBER AND FOREHEAD PIECE MECHANICALLY AND TO COUPLE SAID SOURCEAND LIGHT DEVICE IN AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT, A MERCURY SWITCH DEVICE INSAID CIRCUIT AND DETACHABLY CONNECTED TO SAID FOREHEAD PIECE WHEREBYSAID LIGHT DEVICE IS ACTUATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE POSITION OF THEHEAD OF THE USER, AND A FURTHER SOCKET IN SAID FOREHEAD PIECE ANDOPENING LATERALLY WITH RESPECT THERETO, SAID MERCURY SWITCH DEVICECOMPRISING A BODY, A STEM ON SAID BODY, SAID STEM BEING DETACHABLE FROMAND ROTATABLY SUPPORTED IN SAID FURTHER SOCKET, AND KNOB